Andorians are a fictional race of humanoidextraterrestrials in the American science fiction franchise Star Trek. They were created by writer D. C. Fontana. Within the Star Trek narrative, they are native to the icy Class M moon Andoria (also called Andor[1]), which orbits a blue, ringedgas giant. Distinctive traits of Andorians include their blue skin, a pair of cranialantennae, and white hair.[2] Andorians first appeared in the 1968 Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Journey to Babel", and have been seen or mentioned in episodes of subsequent series in the Star Trek franchise. They were indicated to be a vital, important member of the United Federation of Planets in the 1997 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "In the Cards", but did not gain considerable exposure until the 2001-2005 series Star Trek: Enterprise, on which they were used as recurring characters, most notably in the person of Shran, a starship commander who maintained a sometimes adversarial and begrudging friendship with Enterprise Captain Jonathan Archer. On that series, viewers learned more about Andorian ships, the home world Andoria, and the culture and history of Andorians and their subspecies, the Aenar, than had previously been shown. The 2004 episode "Zero Hour" established that Andorians were one of the four founding members of the United Federation of Planets.[3]

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Andorians have blue blood, blue skin, white hair, and antennae on the crown of the skull. By the time of the 2001 - 2005 TV series Star Trek: Enterprise, the antennae were depicted as protruding from the forehead, and capable of movement, used for gesturing and balancing. If cut off, an antenna will grow back after nine months, though the time can be reduced by half with electrical stimulation and brisk cranial massage.[4]

There are at least two Andorian subspecies: those with blue skin, the majority of the population; and the more reclusive, blue-white-skinned Aenar, long considered a myth until contact was remade with blueskins circa 2154 in the episode "The Aenar". The Aenar are blind, but exhibit telepathic and telemetric abilities. Aenar appear to use their antennae as telepathic receptors.[5]

Andorians believe in a progenitor world, an Eden-like paradise where they originated. Its name is considered unpronounceable by non-Andorians.[6]

Andorian ale is a blue alcoholic beverage,[7] and Andorian blues is a genre of music.[8]

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Data's Day", Data says that "Andorian marriages typically require groups of four people, unless...." It is unknown what Data intended to say, as he was interrupted before he could complete the statement.

As seen on Enterprise, the Andorians of the 2150s are depicted as harboring an intense mistrust of other races, particularly humans and Vulcans, and frequently refer to humans using the pejorative "pink-skin." Their mistrust of Vulcans is illustrated in the episode "The Andorian Incident", in which a long-range surveillance post is discovered hidden within a Vulcan monastery on the planet P'Jem. It is also in this episode that the Andorian captain, Shran, first comes to see Enterprise captain Jonathan Archer as an objective, honorable man, after Archer turns over scans of the outpost to Shran, to provide his people with proof of the outpost.

In Andorian tradition, the Ushaan is a duel to the death, which is fought with hand-held blades called Ushaan-Tor, as mentioned in the second scene of Act 3. The Ushan Right of Substitution allows combatants to choose another combatant to fight in their place. There are 12,000 amendments to the honor code that governs the Ushaan, and one rule states that either combatant can postpone a duel indefinitely if the combatant is married and has no children, as Travis and Hoshi mention later in the same Act. The Ushann is settled when a combatant is rendered defenseless.[4]

In the 2370s, The Andorian Academy is recognized as one of the best art schools in the Federation.[9]

Historically, the Andorians were rivals with the Vulcans. The Vulcans annexed the Andorian planet Weytahn, which the Vulcans call Paan Mokar. By the 22nd century, the two had entered a cold war of sorts.[10]

With the entry of Earth onto the astropolitical scene, the tensions between Andor and Vulcan are gradually resolved with human aid. In 2161, Andorians and Vulcans put their differences fully aside and formed the United Federation of Planets with Humans and Tellarites.[3]

Andoria is an icy moon orbiting a ringed gas giant. It has also been referred to as Andor.[1] In a DVD bonus feature for the 4th season of Enterprise, episode writers Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens stated that Andor was the gas giant, Andoria the moon, and that this was a conscious effort to address the discrepancy. Most of its cities are built underground to take advantage of geothermal warmth. Temperatures have been known to reach -28 °C in the summer. Andoria has at least one moon or neighboring planet. Andorians share their homeworld with an obscure telepathic subspecies, Aenar, which have either light blue or white skin.[5]

A 1970s technical fiction book, The Starfleet Medical Reference Manual, held that Andorians were the only known semi-insectoid race in Federation territory, with a limited exoskeleton and antennae used for both quadriscopic vision reception and focused hearing.[14] These points were repeated in the 1980s book Worlds of the Federation.[13] Fully insectoid races depicted or referred to onscreen include the unseen Jarada in the Next Generation episode "The Big Goodbye", and the Xindi, which were introduced in Star Trek: Enterprise‍ '​s third season.

In the Deep Space Nine relaunch novels, four-person Andorian marriages were extrapolated into four sexes (thaan, chen, shen, and zhen).[15] A recurring plot point in the post-TV series novels is that the rarity of compatible Andorian foursomes produced extremely low reproduction rates which, in tandem with genetic weaknesses, led to the species' near extinction.

Similarly, the Marvel comic book Star Trek: Starfleet Academy refers to complex yet flexible marital structures, involving one or more fathers, and describes Andorians as passionate, with a violent history.[16]

In the Pocket Books continuity, specifically the 2010 novel, Star Trek: Typhon Pact - Paths of Disharmony by Dayton Ward, the Andorian Empire withdraws from the Federation in 2382.[17] However, the Andorian government still maintains diplomatic relations with the Federation, and Andorian officers are allowed to remain in Starfleet if they so choose. Despite Andor's withdrawal, a sizable percentage of the population - represented in the Andorian government by the "New Progressive Party", as opposed to the secessionist "Visionist Party" - favored continuing membership in the Federation, opening the possibility of a later reunification. In a subsequent novel, Dayton Ward's Star Trek: The Fall - Peaceable Kingdoms, Andor does rejoin the Federation.[18]

In the Free-to-play online role-playing game Star Trek Online, which takes place in 2409, the Andorians are still ordinary members of the Federation.

In the Fan film episodic series Starship Exeter, the communications officer on the bridge is an Andorian Lieutenant named B'fuselek. In this series it is explained that Andorians' antennae give the Andorians the ability to detect nearby fluctuations in gravity, and know their position in relation to these gravity differences.